1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it
came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was
in Shushan the palace, 2that Hanani, one of my brethren,
came, he and certain men out of Judah; and I asked them concerning
the Jews that had escaped, that were left of the captivity, and
concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said unto me, The
remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in
great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken
down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4And
it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept,
and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of
heaven, 5and said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of
heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and
lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments:
6Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open,
that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I
pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of
Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of
Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's
house have sinned: 7we have dealt very corruptly against
thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the
ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. 8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant
Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the
peoples: 9but if ye return unto me, and keep my
commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost
part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will
bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to
dwell there. 10Now these are thy servants and thy
people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy
strong hand. 11O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear
be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy
servants, who delight to fear thy name; and prosper, I pray thee,
thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.
Now I was cupbearer to the king.

2 Nehemiah 2

1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him,
that I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not
been beforetime sad in his presence. 2And the king said
unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this
is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.
3And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever:
why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my
fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed
with fire? 4Then the king said unto me, For what dost
thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant
have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto
Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
6And the king said unto me (the queen also sitting by
him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?
So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be
given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me
pass through till I come unto Judah; 8and a letter unto
Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to
make beams for the gates of the castle which appertaineth to the
house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall
enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of
my God upon me.

9Then I came to the governors beyond the
River, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with
me captains of the army and horsemen. 10And when
Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard
of it, it grieved them exceedingly, for that there was come a man to
seek the welfare of the children of Israel. 11So I came
to Jerusalem, and was there three days. 12And I arose in
the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what
my God put into my heart to do for Jerusalem; neither was there any
beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. 13And I
went out by night by the valley gate, even toward the jackal's well,
and to the dung gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were
broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. 14Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool: but
there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. 15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall; and I
turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.
16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did;
neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to
the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

17Then said I unto them, Ye see the evil case that we
are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned
with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we
be no more a reproach. 18And I told them of the hand of
my God which was good upon me, as also of the king's words that he
had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they
strengthened their hands for the good work. 19But when
Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised
us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against
the king? 20Then answered I them, and said unto them,
The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants
will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor
memorial, in Jerusalem.

3 Nehemiah 3

1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his
brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they
sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of
Hammeah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananel. 2And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them
builded Zaccur the son of Imri.

3And the fish gate did
the sons of Hassenaah build; they laid the beams thereof, and set up
the doors thereof, the bolts thereof, and the bars thereof. 4And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of
Hakkoz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah,
the son of Meshezabel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of
Baana. 5And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but
their nobles put not their necks to the work of their lord.

6And the old gate repaired Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the
son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors
thereof, and the bolts thereof, and the bars thereof. 7And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the
Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, that appertained to
the throne of the governor beyond the River. 8Next unto
him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths. And next unto
him repaired Hananiah one of the perfumers, and they fortified
Jerusalem even unto the broad wall. 9And next unto them
repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of half the district of
Jerusalem. 10And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son
of Harumaph, over against his house. And next unto him repaired
Hattush the son of Hashabneiah. 11Malchijah the son of
Harim, and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired another portion,
and the tower of the furnaces. 12And next unto him
repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the
district of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

13The
valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they
built it, and set up the doors thereof, the bolts thereof, and the
bars thereof, and a thousand cubits of the wall unto the dung gate.

14And the dung gate repaired Malchijah the son of
Rechab, the ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem; he built it,
and set up the doors thereof, the bolts thereof, and the bars
thereof.

15And the fountain gate repaired Shallun the
son of Colhozeh, the ruler of the district of Mizpah; he built it,
and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the bolts thereof, and
the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's
garden, even unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.
16After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the
ruler of half the district of Beth-zur, unto the place over against
the sepulchres of David, and unto the pool that was made, and unto
the house of the mighty men. 17After him repaired the
Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah,
the ruler of half the district of Keilah, for his district. 18After him repaired their brethren, Bavvai the son of Henadad, the
ruler of half the district of Keilah. 19And next to him
repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another
portion, over against the ascent to the armory at the turning of the
wall. 20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly
repaired another portion, from the turning of the wall unto the door
of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21After him
repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz another
portion, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of
the house of Eliashib. 22And after him repaired the
priests, the men of the Plain. 23After them repaired
Benjamin and Hasshub over against their house. After them repaired
Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah beside his own house.
24After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another
portion, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, and
unto the corner. 25Palal the son of Uzai repaired over
against the turning of the wall, and the tower that standeth out
from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the
guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh repaired. 26(Now the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the
water gate toward the east, and the tower that standeth out.)
27After him the Tekoites repaired another portion, over
against the great tower that standeth out, and unto the wall of
Ophel.

28Above the horse gate repaired the priests,
every one over against his own house. 29After them
repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his own house. And
after him repaired Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the
east gate. 30After him repaired Hananiah the son of
Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another portion. After
him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his
chamber. 31After him repaired Malchijah one of the
goldsmiths unto the house of the Nethinim, and of the merchants,
over against the gate of Hammiphkad, and to the ascent of the
corner. 32And between the ascent of the corner and the
sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

The Holy
Bible, American Standard Version - First published in the year of
our Lord (Anno Domini) AD 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons, Publishers.
Also called the Standard American Edition - Revised Version.www.BibleABC.net